At 30 June 2004, almost half (47%) of all sentenced prisoners were convicted with a most serious offence involving violence or the threat of violence, including homicide and related offences (10%), sexual assault and related offences (11%), acts intended to cause injury (assault) (14%) and robbery/extortion (12%) (table 11.43). A further 13% of sentenced prisoners had a most serious offence of unlawful entry with intent, and 10% were serving sentences for a most serious offence involving illicit drugs.

11.43 SENTENCED PRISONERS, By most serious offence - 30 June 2004

NSW(a)

Vic.

Qld

SA

WA

Tas.

NT

ACT in
ACT

ACT in
NSW(a)

ACT
total

Aust.(b)

Homicide and related offences

619

368

484

126

221

49

54

-

12

12

1,921

Acts intended to cause injury

1,152

217

614

61

322

69

190

15

11

26

2,640

Sexual assault and related offences

593

362

627

121

359

58

61

n.p.

n.p.

18

2,182

Dangerous or negligent acts endangering persons

53

29

97

n.p.

98

9

15

n.p.

n.p.

5

307

Abduction and related offences

64

28

8

n.p.

14

-

3

n.p.

-

n.p.

121

Robbery, extortion and related offences

930

357

527

113

397

28

14

n.p.

n.p.

19

2,367

Unlawful entry with intent

900

388

471

139

415

56

58

7

12

19

2,434

Theft and related offences

460

340

154

38

180

22

18

15

12

27

1,227

Deception and related offences

238

103

192

64

53

15

6

n.p.

n.p.

5

674

Illicit drug offences

877

350

370

76

211

12

20

9

5

14

1,925

Weapons and explosive offences

66

13

5

4

5

6

n.p.

n.p.

-

n.p.

104

Property damage and environmental pollution

57

35

56

54

22

13

n.p.

n.p.

n.p.

n.p.

250

Public order offences

61

30

6

n.p.

24

n.p.

-

-

n.p.

n.p.

124

Road traffic and motor vehicle regulatory offences

558

105

132

21

144

13

86

14

3

17

1,073

Offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations

797

266

126

144

160

24

37

8

23

31

1,562

Miscellaneous offences

33

19

210

n.p.

43

n.p.

11

3

-

3

325

Total

7,458

3,010

4,079

970

2,668

379

587

85

118

203

19,236

(a) The majority of full-time prisoners sentenced in the ACT are held in NSW prisons. (b) The ACT in NSW figures are a subset of the NSW figures and are not separately counted in the Australian totals.

Source: Prisoners in Australia, 2004 (4517.0).

There were differences in the types of most serious offence for which men and women were imprisoned. The highest proportion of most serious offences for males in prison at 30 June 2004 involved acts intended to cause injury (14%), unlawful entry with intent (13%), robbery/extortion (12%), and sexual assault (12%). Illicit drug offences (15%), deception offences (13%) and acts intended to cause injury (12%) were the most frequent most serious offences for females (graph 11.44).

SENTENCE LENGTH

Aggregate length of sentence is a measure of the sentences imposed on an offender, sometimes taking multiple offences into account. Average sentence length excludes prisoners who receive an indeterminate type of sentence such as 'life' as well as periodic detainee sentences. At 30 June 2004 the average aggregate sentence of all prisoners sentenced to a specific term was 4.9 years (graph 11.45). Nearly one in four sentenced prisoners (23%) had an aggregate sentence of 2-5 years, and prisoners with a sentence of 5-10 years comprised 22% of the prisoner population.

The time a prisoner is expected to serve in custody depends upon the sentence originally handed down, the system of remissions and the forms of parole available. Taking into account the earliest dates for release of sentenced prisoners, the average expected time to serve at 30 June 2004 was 3.5 years.